1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph. The stasis of The Normal Heart takes place in New York in the early 1980s. Characters include Ned Weeks, Bruce Niles, Felix Turner, Ben Weeks, Dr. Emma Brookner, and Tommy Boatwright. During the time period, gay men are dying from a suspicious disease. Ned Weeks tries to help by creating an organization to raise money for a cure as well as awareness of it. However, the general public is ignoring the issue but giving attention to a Tylenol case in which only a few people actually died. Ned is also dealing with tension with his brother and the group he organized.
2. What is the intrusion? The intrusion of the play is when Ned realized decides to create a group that raises awareness of the virus that gay men seem to be dying from as well as raise money for a cure.
3. What is the unique factor? The unique factor of the play is that is the time in which Ned combats the issue of the virus killing so many people in his community and raises the question of why no one is really doing anything about it. This is the day that the audience sees Ned Week’s character fight back and oftentimes be disagreed with over his beliefs in terms of what people should do about the virus. Also, this is the day the audience gets to see how the general public of the play treat the issue.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play? The dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play is, “Will the general public give more attention to the problem or continue to ignore it?” The question is brought up by Ned Weeks countless times when he decides to found the group to help combat the virus. While so many of his friends are dying from it alone, the virus can barely get into a full page article in popular newspapers. Towards the end of the play, the audience begins to wonder whether or not the government will continue to ignore the problem or do something about it.
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it. The first type of exposition in which it only happens to character takes place when Ned Weeks notices that a lot of friends are dying from a virus that seems to be sexually transmitted. He decides then to do something about it and create a group to fight against the disease. Another example of this inward exposition is when Ned notices that his father’s life never stood for anything. He didn’t want to live like that, so he lived as someone who was outspoken about their beliefs and who could fight for what they believed in. An example of the exposition that happens to characters outwardly is when the group elects Bruce as their president because Ned is deemed to have a bad “impression,” on the public and that he is too outspoken. Ned shows that he disagrees with the decision, especially since he believes that they cannot have a president who is still “in the closet,” about his sexuality.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be. The most theatrical moment in the play took place when Ned and Felix were married. It is sad because Felix was not going to live for much longer due to the virus Ned was trying so hard so hard to fight. It reminds the audience about how Ned went through problems within his group and with the government. First, he wasn’t even elected as the president even though he was the one who created it. Next, his beliefs clashed with the image the group was trying to create. Next, he had to fight for the government to see the problem he was presenting as a real problem, (the mayor, the White House) and even for his own brother to invest his firm to back the group as well. Even after all of that, the love of his life was dying and sadly there was no stopping that. Although there was some comedy in the play as a whole, this moment brought back all of the parts that just seemed unfair and reminded the audience of the dark reality or the subject.
7. List some of the themes of the play. Themes in the play include life and death, the individual vs society, capitalism, and religion. Life and death can be shown through that of all of the people Ned Weeks knew that died because of the virus and the public’s ignorance of it. The individual vs society theme can come from Ned Week’s character facing society when he tried to create a group that would raise awareness of the virus and raise money to find its cure. The government did not back him and there were problems within the group that were based on society (Bruce’s sexuality being a secret, their decision to make Bruce the leader because of how they thought people may see Ned). Capitalism can be a theme because there was not a lot of money backing Ned’s group. If there were, there would be a lot more discussion about the topic. Religion is also a major theme in the play despite the small amount of times it is mentioned. Because many people believe being gay is wrong due to religion, the idea that being gay is unacceptable sort of stayed in society. People didn’t accept it, and neither did the government. That made it hard for people with the virus to even be treated.
8. What does Ned want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants? Ned faces the obstacles of me against another individual and me against society. Ned faces the obstacle of me against another individual with that of his brother. His brother did not accept him for a large part of the play. During an argument, Ned finally broke and decided that he was going to confront the main problem: his brother did not see him as equal because he was gay. This problem was stirring underneath their relationship for too long and Ned brought it to light after his brother said he would not back him for the group.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play. Images in this play include the hospital room and the White House. The hospital room is an image because on the outside it is a hospital room. However, the hospital room symbolizes where a lot of people Ned knew ended up and died because of the virus. It became like a death sentence for anyone who got the virus. The White House is an image because on the outside it is just part of the government. However, it symbolizes the power the government had over the people. The president didn’t bring Aids to attention and if he did, they would have been on their way to finding a cure for the virus and stopped it from getting as out of control as it did.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play. The family relationships people can see in the play include that of Ned and his friends, his boyfriend, and his brother. Ned cares deeply for his friends, so when they begin to die he is afraid for them and his community as a whole. They bring in comedy into the play and show their love and acceptance for one another the way a family does. Ned’s boyfriend becomes the love of his life instead of a casual fling, and because of that the audience can only imagine how much it hurts to see him die because of the virus. The relationship Ned shares with his brother is also a family relationship because Ben does love him, but somewhere deep down he is uncomfortable about his brother’s sexuality.
The stasis of The Normal Heart takes place in New York in the early 1980s. Characters include Ned Weeks, Bruce Niles, Felix Turner, Ben Weeks, Dr. Emma Brookner, and Tommy Boatwright. During the time period, gay men are dying from a suspicious disease. Ned Weeks tries to help by creating an organization to raise money for a cure as well as awareness of it. However, the general public is ignoring the issue but giving attention to a Tylenol case in which only a few people actually died. Ned is also dealing with tension with his brother and the group he organized.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion of the play is when Ned realized decides to create a group that raises awareness of the virus that gay men seem to be dying from as well as raise money for a cure.
3. What is the unique factor?
The unique factor of the play is that is the time in which Ned combats the issue of the virus killing so many people in his community and raises the question of why no one is really doing anything about it. This is the day that the audience sees Ned Week’s character fight back and oftentimes be disagreed with over his beliefs in terms of what people should do about the virus. Also, this is the day the audience gets to see how the general public of the play treat the issue.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
The dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play is, “Will the general public give more attention to the problem or continue to ignore it?” The question is brought up by Ned Weeks countless times when he decides to found the group to help combat the virus. While so many of his friends are dying from it alone, the virus can barely get into a full page article in popular newspapers. Towards the end of the play, the audience begins to wonder whether or not the government will continue to ignore the problem or do something about it.
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
The first type of exposition in which it only happens to character takes place when Ned Weeks notices that a lot of friends are dying from a virus that seems to be sexually transmitted. He decides then to do something about it and create a group to fight against the disease. Another example of this inward exposition is when Ned notices that his father’s life never stood for anything. He didn’t want to live like that, so he lived as someone who was outspoken about their beliefs and who could fight for what they believed in. An example of the exposition that happens to characters outwardly is when the group elects Bruce as their president because Ned is deemed to have a bad “impression,” on the public and that he is too outspoken. Ned shows that he disagrees with the decision, especially since he believes that they cannot have a president who is still “in the closet,” about his sexuality.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
The most theatrical moment in the play took place when Ned and Felix were married. It is sad because Felix was not going to live for much longer due to the virus Ned was trying so hard so hard to fight. It reminds the audience about how Ned went through problems within his group and with the government. First, he wasn’t even elected as the president even though he was the one who created it. Next, his beliefs clashed with the image the group was trying to create. Next, he had to fight for the government to see the problem he was presenting as a real problem, (the mayor, the White House) and even for his own brother to invest his firm to back the group as well. Even after all of that, the love of his life was dying and sadly there was no stopping that. Although there was some comedy in the play as a whole, this moment brought back all of the parts that just seemed unfair and reminded the audience of the dark reality or the subject.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Themes in the play include life and death, the individual vs society, capitalism, and religion. Life and death can be shown through that of all of the people Ned Weeks knew that died because of the virus and the public’s ignorance of it. The individual vs society theme can come from Ned Week’s character facing society when he tried to create a group that would raise awareness of the virus and raise money to find its cure. The government did not back him and there were problems within the group that were based on society (Bruce’s sexuality being a secret, their decision to make Bruce the leader because of how they thought people may see Ned). Capitalism can be a theme because there was not a lot of money backing Ned’s group. If there were, there would be a lot more discussion about the topic. Religion is also a major theme in the play despite the small amount of times it is mentioned. Because many people believe being gay is wrong due to religion, the idea that being gay is unacceptable sort of stayed in society. People didn’t accept it, and neither did the government. That made it hard for people with the virus to even be treated.
8. What does Ned want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants?
Ned faces the obstacles of me against another individual and me against society. Ned faces the obstacle of me against another individual with that of his brother. His brother did not accept him for a large part of the play. During an argument, Ned finally broke and decided that he was going to confront the main problem: his brother did not see him as equal because he was gay. This problem was stirring underneath their relationship for too long and Ned brought it to light after his brother said he would not back him for the group.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
Images in this play include the hospital room and the White House. The hospital room is an image because on the outside it is a hospital room. However, the hospital room symbolizes where a lot of people Ned knew ended up and died because of the virus. It became like a death sentence for anyone who got the virus. The White House is an image because on the outside it is just part of the government. However, it symbolizes the power the government had over the people. The president didn’t bring Aids to attention and if he did, they would have been on their way to finding a cure for the virus and stopped it from getting as out of control as it did.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
The family relationships people can see in the play include that of Ned and his friends, his boyfriend, and his brother. Ned cares deeply for his friends, so when they begin to die he is afraid for them and his community as a whole. They bring in comedy into the play and show their love and acceptance for one another the way a family does. Ned’s boyfriend becomes the love of his life instead of a casual fling, and because of that the audience can only imagine how much it hurts to see him die because of the virus. The relationship Ned shares with his brother is also a family relationship because Ben does love him, but somewhere deep down he is
uncomfortable about his brother’s sexuality.